


Welcome to the Family

by shutupheather



Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Gun Violence, Hospitals, How Do I Tag, Hurt Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV), M/M, Married Couple, Married Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz, Relationship Reveal, Secret Marriage, Secret Relationship, Team as Family, Worried Bobby Nash, Worried Evan "Buck" Buckley
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-27
Updated: 2021-02-27
Packaged: 2021-03-18 02:53:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,488
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29727222
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shutupheather/pseuds/shutupheather
Summary: “He kept mumbling about someone named Ev in the ambulance…"“I was thinking it might be a wife or girlfriend named Evelyn, maybe? But I honestly have no idea…” Hen wondered.“Me neither,” Bobby added. “I just hope, for his sake, that they’re able to get a hold of whoever it is.”OREddie gets hurt on the job. The team meets and comforts his husband in the hospital waiting room.
Relationships: Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV)
Comments: 60
Kudos: 874
Collections: 9-1-1 Tales





	Welcome to the Family

**Author's Note:**

> Hello!! Thank you so much for reading :)
> 
> There are so many fics like this already, but I wanted to make one of my own because I LOVE this trope lol.
> 
> This ended up way longer than I initially thought it'd be, but I hope you guys like it!!
> 
> As always, kudos/comments are very much appreciated ❤️❤️

~Bobby POV~

Tonight’s call would haunt Bobby’s dreams for _god_ _knows_ how long. 

Bobby has been captain of the 118 for a while now, so he’s seen almost everything. But that never made things easier. In some ways he was thankful for that, because that meant he was still human. That meant his crazy job hadn’t sucked the life out of him yet. 

Tonight’s call was hard because it involved one of his own. He loved his crew like they were family. They were dysfunctional, but family nonetheless. The person involved was Eddie Diaz, their newest recruit, which only made Bobby feel worse. 

Bobby knew virtually nothing about Eddie, but something in his gut told him that he was a good man. The only information he had on him was that he was a decorated war veteran and graduated top of his class at the academy. Anything else about Eddie was under lock and key. Bobby just wished, one day, the team could earn the right to crack the safe encasing his life.

When they pulled up to the scene, a run-down bar in West Hollywood, it was far from contained. There were a few men brawling in front of the establishment, requiring police to try and intervene. Bobby’s team was ready to rush in whenever the fighting subsided to bandage bloody knuckles and assess broken noses. 

The next few things happened in the blink of an eye. 

More seething, broody figures exited the bar. The fighting escalated. One of the men reached behind them, grabbing for something. A gun was brandished and fired haphazardly into the surrounding areas. The 118 tried to take cover. The sound of a body hitting the pavement flooded Bobby’s senses. 

Once they were sure the shots had subsided, the crew emerged from their sheltering positions. That’s when Bobby saw it. Eddie Diaz, laying on the concrete, clutching at his side. The police would have to call for more assistance because Bobby wasn’t about to send his people to go help someone who just shot one of their own. 

Hen and Chim were on it quick. It was moments like these that Bobby was grateful for how amazing his team was. Before he knew it, they were loading Eddie into the nearby ambulance and getting ready to take him to the nearest hospital. Bobby would meet them there. 

As he drove, he couldn’t help but worry over Eddie. He was a good man and didn’t deserve this. He only wished he knew if there was someone to call for him. Someone who could maybe take just an ounce of this immeasurable pain away. Alas he didn’t, so all he could do was sit in the waiting room and pray. His crew, scratch that, his  _ family _ would be there waiting for him.

-

When he arrived at the hospital, he was relieved to see Hen and Chim saving him a nearby seat already. Although he wishes this was in better circumstances, he always enjoyed his team showing their love for one another. It was a long shift after all, they could be home sleeping, or grabbing a bite to eat, but no. They’re here. And that warmed Bobby’s heart in ways he could never say. 

“How is he?” he asked, taking his seat that he would be camping out in until further notice. 

Hen let out a tired sigh, “He lost some blood on the way over, and the bullet is still lodged somewhere in his abdomen… they wheeled him into surgery a few minutes ago.”

Bobby scrubbed his hands over his worried expression. He hated this feeling of not knowing, of not being able to do anything but wait. Eddie was one of them, a part of their family. They wouldn’t feel whole until he was on the other side of those operating room doors. 

“And his family?” Bobby inquired. “Were they able to contact anyone? An emergency contact maybe?”

“Yeah, I heard a nurse say she’d call whoever it was,” Chim said, his gaze distant and unfocused. “He kept mumbling about someone named Ev in the ambulance… I’m racking my brain but I can’t remember him ever mentioning anyone by that name. Or anyone else for that matter.”

“I was thinking it might be a wife or girlfriend named Evelyn, maybe? But I honestly have no idea…” Hen wondered. 

“Me neither,” Bobby added. “I just hope, for his sake, that they’re able to get a hold of whoever it is.”

Hen and Chim hummed in response. Bobby also hoped that whoever came for Eddie didn’t mind their presence, because they wouldn’t be leaving until they saw Eddie alive and well with their own eyes. 

-

They had been sitting in the waiting room for about twenty minutes when Hen and Chimney offered to make a quick coffee run. Bobby remained, hoping to hear an update soon. 

He was about to pull his phone out to check in with Athena when a man came running through the entrance. Bobby sat and watched as he made a mad dash for the front desk, frantically saying something Bobby couldn’t quite make out. 

The man had to be in his late twenties. He had a mess of blond curls on his head and was wearing a hoodie and sweats. Bobby guessed, noting that it was nearing midnight, that he rolled out of bed and ran straight here. Whatever was going on with him must be important. 

He seemed to have gotten all the information he could from the nurse, turned and began pacing the length of the waiting room. He was a large fellow, if the muscles and Navy hoodie were anything to go by, but the look on his face broke something inside of Bobby. He looked worried, on the brink of tears, like a scared little kid. Before his brain could talk him out of it, Bobby was out of his chair, something drawing him towards the young man. 

“Hey,” Bobby started, getting the attention of the blond. “You okay son? You’re gonna wear a hole in the linoleum if you keep pacing like that.”

The man just stared at him wildly before his lip started to tremble. Tears threatened to spill over his cheeks as he began to shake his head. “No. I’m not okay,” he squeaked out.

Bobby put a hand on his shoulder and started to direct him towards where he was sitting a few minutes prior, “C’mon, why don’t you sit down and tell me what happened.”

He wordlessly took a seat next to Bobby, his eyes zoning out on something in front of him. It’s almost as if his pacing getting interrupted took away his nervous energy and replaced it with shock. Bobby knew that feeling all too well. When your eyes are open but you don’t actually see anything. Where nothing quite feels real, but you’re trying your best just to remain upright. 

“He should have been home an hour ago…” the man muttered. 

“Who?” Bobby asked in an effort to get his brain back online. 

“He always texts me when he’s running late. I even made up a plate of dinner for him and put in the microwave, so he could heat it up as soon as he got home… Spaghetti, one of his favorites.”

The man screws up his face, as if he’s pained by the memory, before continuing, “I must have fallen asleep waiting for him, because the next thing I know, I’m being woken up by a call from a number I don’t recognize saying… saying that my husband’s been  _ shot _ .”

His quiet voice broke on that last syllable. The shocked stupor finally let him out of its grasp and allowed him to fold into a sob. Bobby gently placed a hand to the younger man’s back, his fatherly need to soothe kicking in.

As the man in front of him let out his sorrow, Bobby’s mind couldn’t help but wonder. Were they waiting on information about the same person? Or could there be another young, male being treated for a gunshot wound that they suffered on the job… 

The man lifted his head, revealing his tear stained face, and placed his elbows on his knees. “I mean, who the  _ fuck _ shoots an on-duty firefighter?” he said low, more to himself than to anyone else. 

Bobby froze for a mere millisecond.  _ Oh… _ This was Eddie’s husband. 

“I don’t mean to intrude but…is your husband Eddie Diaz by any chance?” Bobby asked for clarification. 

The blond turned his misty eyes toward him, and Bobby’s heart ached for the despair mapping his features. “Yeah,” he sniffled. “How did you-”

“Robert Nash,” Bobby interjected, offering a gentle hand to shake. “I’m Eddie’s captain.”

The face in front of him fell before rushing out, “Oh my god. I’m sorry, I’m such a mess right now, I didn’t even recognize your uniform, I-” The young man took a shaky breath before returning the captain’s handshake with a nervous chuckle, “I’m Evan. Evan Diaz. I’m, well I’m his husband, but you know that now.”

A moment later, Evan’s face fell for what felt like the millionth time tonight. Any color left in his face quickly drained, making the young man appear almost ghostly. It made Bobby’s stomach churn. 

“What’s wrong, Evan?” Bobby asked. 

“I- I forgot… I forgot to call our son,” Evan choked out, before turning his face towards Bobby. “How do you- how do you tell an eight year old… that his dad got shot?”

And if that wasn’t just the twist of the knife already plunged into Bobby’s aching heart… Eddie not only had a lovely and caring husband, but he also had a son. A young son at that. Evan looked distraught, like he was lost at a crossroads, his eyes pleading for any answer Bobby was willing to give him. He had never dealt with a situation like this, but he’d try his best. 

He placed a hand on Evan’s shoulder, making sure he was looking at him, hearing him. “You don’t,” he started, earning a wide-eyed look from Evan. “You wait until you have official word on Eddie’s condition… then you tell him. There’s no need to worry him with unnecessary  _ what if _ scenarios. Okay?”

He could notice the fog slightly lifting from the man’s expression as he nodded slightly in response. “I assume he’s with someone now?” Bobby asked. 

“Yes.” Evan replied quickly, shaking his head as if to clear it. “Yes, he’s uh, he’s with his abuela right now."

Evan brought his eyes back up to meet Bobby’s. The captain could see they were blue, yet there was no vibrancy to them. No life behind the iris. “Eddie can’t leave us…” Evan practically whispered, his trembling lip making another appearance. “He can’t leave us alone. I- I can’t do it without him.”

“Hey, hey, that’s not true. You guys aren’t alone, okay?” Bobby assuaged, tightening his grip on Evan’s shoulder. “Your son is with family right now. And so are you, okay? Whether you like it or not, you’re in this family now.”

“You don’t have to do that… you barely know me,” Evan mumbled, a tear escaping down his cheek. 

“But I do know Eddie. And any person that one of my team members loves and cares for so deeply,  _ automatically _ becomes family,” Bobby said sternly. 

Evan offered him a watery smile and a soft, “Thank you.”

Bobby nodded, “Just know… you're stuck now, kid. You couldn’t get rid of us if you tried.”

Evan let out a small laugh. The color was slowly coming back to his face as well. Bobby also took note of how his hands began to slowly unclench themselves from his knees. He may have only known him for a short period of time, but something about Evan made Bobby want to protect him from all other sorrows of life. 

-

Evan seemed like such a genuine and kind person. As he told Bobby more about himself, it was kind of hard to imagine him as a rough and tough member of the Navy. Apparently that’s how he met Eddie, through the military. It sounded like love at first sight, which warmed the cracks in Bobby’s heart. What could he say, he loved love. Evan also showed him pictures of their son, Christopher, who looked like an absolute ray of sunshine. Bobby was already making plans in his head to show them around the station. They might not know it yet, but they  _ needed _ pictures of their small boy in his dad’s oversized turnout jacket. 

Their light conversation was interrupted by his crew returning with fresh coffee. “Black with two sugars for you Cap, and… who’s this?” Hen asked with a quirked brow, Chim joining her side. 

Bobby shifted in his seat to greet them. “Hen, Chim, this is  _ Ev _ an Diaz,” he said, emphasizing the Ev in hopes they’d connect the dots. 

“ _ Oh, _ you’re Eddie’s emergency contact?” Chim asked innocently. 

Evan smiled, “Yeah, um, I’m also his husband. It’s uh, it’s nice to meet you. You know, put faces to the names.”

Hen and Chim shared a quick glance of surprise. “We, uh, didn’t know Eddie was married,” Hen commented. 

Evan looked wistfully at the closed doors blocking visitors from patients. “Yeah he’s a tough nut to crack…not much of a sharer,” he said, turning to face them once more. “But, from what he’s told me about you guys… I think you’re starting to break down that wall of his.”

“That’s what we do,” Chim said with a chuckle. “And don’t listen to anything he’s said about me, okay? It’s all lies…  _ unless _ it’s about how hilarious and good-looking I am, then, well… that’s the truth.”

That earned a laugh from everyone, for which Bobby was appreciative. He could always count on Chim to bring some levity to a dark situation. And if that’s what it took to distract Evan from the major elephant in the room, so be it. 

“I think what Chim was trying to say,” Hen started, sending a friendly glare to her best friend. “Was that we’re glad you’re here, Evan.”

The two paramedics finally took their seats in the chairs across from Bobby and Evan. They looked wiped out, but Bobby knew they wouldn’t budge if he suggested that they go home to rest. 

“Here, have this,” Hen said, extending her cup of coffee to Evan. 

“Oh no, you probably had a really long shift…”

“And you’re probably having one of the longest nights of your life…” Hen countered, giving him a look Bobby knew she used on her children many a time. “ _ Look _ , I’d expect someone to do the same for my wife if it was me on the other side of those doors.  _ Take the coffee. _ ”

The blond took the styrofoam cup, albeit a bit reluctantly. “Thank you… you guys really are like a little family.”

“You bet,” Chim remarked. “And once you’re in, you’re in. We’re like… quicksand. You know? We look like a regular group of friends, but then you’re gonna start to sink in. I hate to break it to you man, but it’s too late to get out now.”

And with that the laughter returned. They proceeded to take turns sharing stories about Eddie. The love for that man, ever evident in the small hospital waiting room. Hen and Chim even started prodding Evan for more information about himself. They knew they were already married, but the 118 are  _ very _ protective over each other. Luckily Bobby’s assumptions about the man seemed to check out. 

He was retired from the navy, working now as a new recruit trainer for the military. He also loved to talk about his kid, Christopher, or as Evan put it, “the light of his life.” On the outside he looked tough, like any other gym rat in Los Angeles. But once he started talking about his love for quite literally everything and everyone in his life, Bobby saw he truly mirrored that of a golden retriever. He’d be an excellent fit for their little found family. 

-

It felt like a million years had passed since they first hunkered down in their respective plastic, hospital chairs. Bobby could practically feel his hair greying more and more with each passing grain of sand through the hourglass. He doesn’t think he’s taken a full breath since the ambulance doors closed so many hours ago. And from the looks of it, neither has anyone else. 

Hen was just about to distract Evan with more questions about his and Eddie’s wedding when a tired looking doctor finally walked in. Bobby said a silent prayer for good news. They sat with bated breath. 

“Family of Edmundo Diaz?”

Evan shot out of his seat at the speed of light. His feet however, were cemented to the floor. Bobby wasn’t sure if it was because he wanted the team to be able to hear the update  _ or _ if he wasn’t sure if he could handle hearing it on his own. Whichever it was, Bobby was grateful for the newly earned trust. 

“I’m his husband, is he okay?” he rushed out once the doctor neared. 

“ _ Yes _ , the surgery was successful. We were able to remove the bullet and repair the damage it caused. Once we make sure there were no complications, we’ll move him to a private room where you’ll be able to visit with him.”

“Thank you so much,” Evan responded. The doctor offered him a soft smile before returning to where they came from.

Evan turned towards the crew with misty eyes, his body shivering with relief. They were all standing, eager with anticipation and excitement. “He’s okay,” he breathed out, as if he was saying it as a reminder for himself. 

“He’s okay,” Evan said, louder and with more conviction, yet paired with a slightly strangled gasp of air. Before he knew it, the team was engulfing him into a hug. All of them making sure he stayed upright. News like this made all the excruciating waiting worth it. 

They stayed in their little group huddle for a few moments, until Evan had enough strength to pull away. He wiped a stray tear from his face before attempting to excuse himself, “I- um- I have to- I”

Bobby clapped him on his shoulder, knowing exactly what was going on, “Go call your boy.”

Evan gave them another smile, only this time it actually reached his eyes. Those same blue eyes that looked void of any life earlier, burned brighter, as if a fire was ignited behind them. He then grabbed his phone and disappeared around the corner. 

Bobby stared after him, “He’s a good kid.”

“Yeah, I like him,” Hen admitted, earning a hum in response from Chim. 

-

It was waning into the wee hours of the morning when they were finally allowed to see Eddie. Bobby, Hen, and Chim trailing behind Evan, trying to give him his space but far too concerned to stay put any longer. 

“Hey,” Evan mused, opening the door to reveal a newly awoken Eddie. “How you feeling?”

“Better,” Eddie muttered. “A lot better, now that you’re here,” he said, reaching a hand out to wrap around Evan’s.

“You really had me scared there for a second babe,” Evan replied, voice tender as he reached a hand up to cup Eddie’s face. 

“Oh, well, if it was only a  _ second, _ ” Eddie laughed tiredly. 

“Already with the sass! You must not feel that bad after all,” Evan joked. “No but really, your team sure does know how to talk someone off the edge.”

Eddie’s eyebrows raised slightly, “Oh, so you met my team… they’re pretty good.”

“They’re also awkwardly standing at the door,” Evan said, ushering them in the room with a small wave. “Figured they should see you, they are family after all.”

Bobby led them in the small room, taking a stand at the foot of Eddie’s bed. 

“Glad to see you in one piece,” Chim said, Hen smiling in agreement. 

“We’ll give you guys your privacy,” Bobby said. “Just wanted to make sure our newest recruit was taking it easy.”   
  
“I’m good, Cap,” Eddie reassured with a smile. “Thanks for staying to check on me you guys… and thanks for making sure Evan was okay,” he said with a squeeze to the other man’s hand. 

“Of course,” Bobby replied. “I expect to see you both at the next Grant-Nash family dinner.”

“Wouldn’t miss it,” Evan said. 

And with that they exchanged their goodbyes and “get well soon”s, leaving the couple be. As they left, Bobby’s heart began to beat at full strength again as he overheard their soft conversation. They were telling each other how much they loved one another, reaffirming each other of the other man’s presence. 

Bobby would call his wife, Athena, on his way home that night, just to remind her how much he loved her. 

**Author's Note:**

> Follow me on Tumblr!!
> 
> @118hasmyback


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